US House to take up bill blocking money for ‘sanctuary cities’

My Way –

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House will take up a bill this week blocking funding for so-called “sanctuary cities” that resist turning over immigrants to federal authorities.

The move follows the shooting death of a woman in San Francisco this month, allegedly by an immigrant with a criminal record and without legal status.

San Francisco authorities had released the man despite a request from federal officials to keep him in custody.

That was in line with a practice by San Francisco and other jurisdictions that have begun refusing to cooperate with federal immigration orders amid concerns over their legality and their impact on immigrant communities.

The bill by Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter of California would block certain federal grants to cities that don’t honor federal immigration requests.

A similar proposal has been advanced in the Senate, but it’s unclear how far it will go.

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THORNER: SMART METERS: DON’T BE FOOLED. NO REAL BENEFITS, INCALCULABLE RISKS PT 2

Illinois Review –

By Nancy Thorner,

ComEd is in the process of installing 4,000,000 “Smart Meters” across the state of Illinois. Traditional analog electric meters are being replaced. Featured in Part 1 was a CUBFacts informational sheet on which CUB’s misleading statements were followed each time by an expert’s explanation.

The health effects and safety violations continue to be reported in the U.S. and in other nations. After reading this article, even the most skeptical individuals might come to a realization that Smart Meters are definitely NOT the innocent devices that the public has been told to accept.

 

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Here’s how much corporations paid US senators to fast-track the TPP bill

The Guardian –

A decade in the making, the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is reaching its climax and as Congress hotly debates the biggest trade deal in a generation, its backers have turned on the cash spigot in the hopes of getting it passed.

“We’re very much in the endgame,” US trade representative Michael Froman told reporters over the weekend at a meeting of the 21-member Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum on the resort island of Boracay. His comments came days after TPP passed another crucial vote in the Senate.

That vote, to give Barack Obama the authority to speed the bill through Congress, comes as the president’s own supporters, senior economists and a host of activists have lobbied against a pact they argue will favor big business but harm US jobs, fail to secure better conditions for workers overseas and undermine free speech online.

Those critics are unlikely to be silenced by an analysis of the sudden flood of money it took to push the pact over its latest hurdle.

Fast-tracking the TPP, meaning its passage through Congress without having its contents available for debate or amendments, was only possible after lots of corporate money exchanged hands with senators. The US Senate passed Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) – the fast-tracking bill – by a 65-33 margin on 14 May. Last Thursday, the Senate voted 62-38 to bring the debate on TPA to a close.

Those impressive majorities follow months of behind-the-scenes wheeling and dealing by the world’s most well-heeled multinational corporations with just a handful of holdouts.

Using data from the Federal Election Commission, this chart shows all donations that corporate members of the US Business Coalition for TPP made to US Senate campaigns between January and March 2015, when fast-tracking the TPP was being debated in the Senate:

• Out of the total $1,148,971 given, an average of $17,676.48 was donated to each of the 65 “yea” votes.
• The average Republican member received $19,673.28 from corporate TPP supporters.
• The average Democrat received $9,689.23 from those same donors.

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Hastert said to have paid student to hide sexual misconduct

The Hill –

Former Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) allegedly paid off a former student to hide sexual misconduct that happened decades ago when he was a high school teacher in Illinois, according to multiple reports.

Hastert was indicted Thursday on charges related to more than $1 million in payments to an unidentified person from Yorkville, Ill., where he had worked as a teacher and wrestling coach before entering politics.

The person, identified only as “Individual A” in the indictment, was a male who was sexually abused by Hastert, according to the Los AngelesTimes, citing two law enforcement officials.

NBC News reported that the person Hastert agreed to pay off had been a student at Yorkville High School while Hastert was a teacher there.

The Yorkville school district issued a statement Friday that it had “no knowledge” of any misconduct by Hastert, who worked in the school system from 1965 to 1981.

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ALERT: Stop this bill in the House‏

LIPINSKI, ROSKAM, HULTGREN WARN AGAINST ILLINOIS’ PROPOSAL TO OPPRESS FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION

SPRINGFIELD, IL – A bill that would force pro-life health care providers to promote and participate in abortion, SB 1564, passed the Illinois Senate this week, and now moves to the House. The bill would also violate federal law, a bipartisan letter from Members of the federal Illinois delegation says.

Congressional members of the Illinois delegation Peter Roskam, Dan Lipinski and Randy Hultgren say in the letter that SB 1564 does more than “gut the conscience protections currently enshrined in [Illinois law].” The bill would “stand in stark contrast to the requirements of superseding federal law, including the Church Amendment, the Coats-Snowe Amendment, and the annual Hyde-Weldon Amendment.”

And it could cost medical facilities in Illinois badly-needed federal assistance. They write that “such legislation could seriously imperil funds for healthcare programs, including reimbursements under Medicare and Medicaid.”

“The right of conscience s a fundamental freedom protected under the U.S. Constitution. The Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment expressly guarantees that Americans will not be prohibited from acting under their chosen religious beliefs, stating, “Congress shall make no law…prohibiting the free exercise [of religion].”

The White House asserted in 2012 that “The President and this administration have previously expressed strong support for existing conscience protections, including those relating to health care providers.”

SB 1564 was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Daniel Biss – Julie A. Morrison – Toi W. Hutchinson – Linda Holmes – Kimberly A. Lightford, Michael Noland, Heather A. Steans, William Delgado, Iris Y. Martinez, Jacqueline Y. Collins, Emil Jones, III, Donne E. Trotter, Mattie Hunter and Kwame Raoul.

Two Republicans – GOP leader Christine Radogno and freshman Senator Chris Nybo – supported the bill.

Illinois House member Robyn Gabel, a former Planned Parenthood director and Madigan’s lieutenant Barbara Flynn Currie are managing the bill in the Illinois House.

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR STATE REP:  http://ilga.gov/house/

 

LEAVE YOUR 13-YEAR-OLD HOME ALONE? POLICE CAN TAKE HER INTO CUSTODY UNDER ILLINOIS LAW

Illinois Policy Institute –

Any parents who leave their children age 13 or younger home alone may be guilty of neglect under Illinois state law.

That’s because Illinois law states that “any minor under the age of 14 years whose parent or other person responsible for the minor’s welfare leaves the minor without supervision for an unreasonable period of time without regard for the mental or physical health, safety, or welfare of that minor” is neglected.

It’s the strictest law of its kind in the nation. Only a handful of other states have a minimum age for leaving children home alone. For example, three states list 12 as the minimum age for leaving children home alone, while three states set the minimum age at 8. Kansas lists the minimum age at 6. At least 30 states have no minimum age for when a child can be left home alone.

While the law in Illinois defines neglect only where the child under 14 years old is left without supervision for an unreasonable period of time without regard for his or her mental or physical, health, safety or welfare, it does not define “unreasonable period of time” or “regard for the mental or physical health, safety or welfare.” Rather, it provides a non-exhaustive list of 15 factors for a court to determine. But that provides practically no guidance to a parent trying to decide when they can or can’t leave their 13-year-old without supervision.

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VA Sends Veterans’ Medical Info To FBI To Get Their Guns Taken Away

Daily Caller –

Documents obtained by The Daily Caller and interviews with American veterans reveal a shocking government program: The Department of Veterans Affairs is disarming America’s veterans by getting them placed on the FBI’s criminal background-check list.

The VA sends veterans’ personal medical and financial information directly to the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which can seize their guns in home raids.

Veterans deemed mentally incompetent or financially incapable are finally speaking out about the errors in the system and the fearful harassment they and their families face from the federal government. And it all starts when vets go to the VA to get medical help.

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7th ANNUAL CHICAGO & ILLINOIS TAX DAY TEA PARTY RALLY

Come join us at the beautiful

Arcada Theater

105 E. Main Street, in St. Charles

for an evening with top Illinois fiscal conservatives

and

great musical entertainment from amazing performers

Wednesday April 15, 2015

Doors open at 4:00 PM – Event 5:00 – 7:00 PM Admission – $10.00 Theater holds 900 – First Come, First Serve

Alcohol, soft drinks and finger foods will be available at the Theater

Master Of Ceremonies – Denise Cattoni – Founder, Illinois Tea Party

Joe Walsh – Am560 The Answer Evening Talk Show Host

Former U.S. Congressman Dan Proft – AM560 The Answer Morning Talk Show Host

Adam Andrzejewski – Founder For the Good of Illinois

John Tillman – CEO Illinois Policy Institute

David From – State Director – American for Prosperity

Pastor Corey Brooks – C.E.O. of Project H.O.O.D. – Helping Others Obtain Destiny

Larry Kaifesh – Former Republican U.S. Congressional Candidate

8th District Blair Garber – Evanston Township Republican Comitteeman

Jesus Alaniz – Conservative Republican who will speak about illegal immigration.

C.Steven Tucker – Healthcare Policy Team Leader for the Illinois Tea Party

Art Havenhill – Co-State Coordinator Tea Party Patriots

Babette Holder – Frederick Douglass

Kirk Allen – Edgar County Watchdogs

Eric Golub -Conservative comedian, author, blogger and public speaker

Musical guests include: World class guitarist, John Ivan, singer/songwriter Bert Cattoni preforming ‘I Still Believe’ and Kevin Chalfant, the first stand in lead singer for Steve Perry with Journey, performing ‘Don’t Stop Believing’.

Parking is just north and just west of the theater. Metra West line trains run from Chicago to Geneva and back every half hour.

Contact: Denise Cattoni – 630.290.2130

Steven Tucker – 630.674.1551

Download the event flyer here

FBI, federal prosecutors investigating Aaron Schock

CNN –

Washington (CNN)The FBI and the federal prosecutors in Illinois are investigating whether Rep. Aaron Schock broke the law in accounting for campaign expenses, according to people familiar with the matter.

Schock in recent days announced plans to resign, citing controversy surrounding allegations that he improperly accounted for travel and other contributions from donors and mileage reimbursements for a personal car he purchased with campaign funds. But the probe managed by prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Springfield, Ill., means his legal troubles are just beginning.

The federal investigation is focused on at least three questions, according to people familiar with the inquiry, including the mileage reimbursements, travel that was paid for by donors and in-kind contributions from donors that were not reported.

The FBI is delivering subpoenas in Washington and Illinois, according to two people familiar with the investigation.

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Obama says he learned of Clinton using private email through news reports

Fox News –

President Obama says he first learned from news reports that his former secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, used a private email account during her tenure, amid reports the White House and State Department may have known as far back as last August that Clinton did not use government email.

“The same time everybody else learned it, through news reports,” Obama told CBS’ Bill Plante, in response to a question of when the president learned of Clinton’s use of a private email account for conducting government business.

Obama, in an interview with CBS aired Sunday, continued to stand by his claims that “the policy of my administration is to encourage transparency… and that’s why my emails — the BlackBerry that I carry around — all those records are available and archived and I’m glad that Hillary has instructed that those emails that had to do with official business need to be disclosed.”

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